Rep. Dan Newhouse can honor his family’s legacy by standing up to Trump’s overreach | Editorial
Residents of Washington’s 4th Congressional District did not elect Rep. Dan Newhouse to stand idly by as President Donald Trump dismantles the federal government.
Trump and his bulldog Elon Musk are unilaterally disrupting the nation in open defiance of constitutional checks and balances. Their multi-pronged attack on democratic order has upended not only social institutions – think immigration, birthright citizenship and LGBTQ rights – but also the very structure of government and federal spending.
The courts have tried to intervene, but it remains unclear if they will ultimately be able to stop the mayhem. Meanwhile the Republican majority in Congress, of which Newhouse is a member, has let the president render the legislative branch all but irrelevant.
The recklessness threatens to derail critical work here in Washington.
The state’s universities warn of fiscal chaos caused by Trump and Musk freezing funding for the National Institutes of Health. Life-saving medical and scientific research are on the line. Moreover, executive orders that federal agencies curtail communications leave local leaders without the tools and guidance they need to confront crises like the ongoing avian flu outbreak.
What next? Will funding for the Hanford cleanup be next on the chopping block as a new Secretary of Energy refocuses the department on fossil fuels?
Federal finances do need a major overhaul.
The Government Accountability Office, the nonpartisan research arm of Congress, has warned for years that the nation’s fiscal health is on an unsustainable path. But diagnosing the problem does not grant carte blanche permission to disregard democratic and constitutional norms.
Trump and Musk may not freeze spending, fire employees and dismantle departments on their own. That’s doubly true given that Musk holds no real position within the government, serving as the head of a made-up department never granted power by Congress or the Constitution.
The proper way to pursue change is to identify purported wasteful spending and then to ask Congress to change the budget. The power of the purse resides with the legislative branch, not with the chief executive and his cronies.
Newhouse is in a position to stand up to all of this. In a closely divided House of Representatives, he could leverage his vote to demand that Congress retake its constitutional power and serve as an actual check on the executive branch.
Newhouse doesn’t owe Trump any favors. Last fall, the now-president urged Washingtonians to vote for Newhouse’s opponent, Jerrod Sessler, an unqualified Trump sycophant. Trump called Newhouse a “Weak and Pathetic RINO” in an online post.
It’s unlikely that the mercurial president known for holding a grudge will change his mind and support Newhouse in 2026.
Better to go on (or go down) fighting than to capitulate to a bloodless coup. Fight to restore money in the Farm Bill. Fight to ensure research funding survives. Fight to save dams and favorable Northwest electric rates.
Fight to restore funding for Washington’s farmers and ranchers. Fight for democracy and the rule of law. Fight for the many Americans who are not Democrats but who cannot abide what Trump is doing.
Newhouse has bucked his party before. Most notably he voted to impeach Trump during the president’s first term. He also has been a supporter of sensible reforms for migrant workers.
As a life-long farmer, who represents a rural district, Newhouse is especially well-positioned to challenge the administration’s cuts to the Farm Bill. That alone could generate considerable local support and help inoculate Newhouse from Trump’s inevitable attacks.
Yet the Newhouse name was in the news lately not for his condemning Trump but because a new building opened on the State Capitol Campus in Olympia named after his father. The building replaces an old one that also bore his name.
Irving R. Newhouse was honored in this way because of the reputation he built as a leader first in the House and then in the Senate over more than three decades. He was a shrewd parliamentarian and a skilled negotiator who put the needs of his constituents ahead of partisan concerns.
His legacy of principled public service and dedication to pragmatic solutions now rests with his son.
By standing up to Trump’s executive overreach, Dan Newhouse can prove that the Newhouse name remains synonymous with integrity, bipartisanship and a tireless commitment to the people of Washington.